Inside The Art of Total War

Here is the table of contents. The book focuses on three branches of the Total War family — Shogun 1 & 2, Empire & Napoleon, and Rome 1 & 2. There is less on Medieval & Medieval 2, and less still, a bare few pages, on Attila and the spin-offs (Battles, Arena).

The art itself ranges from unit sketches to concept paintings, and even some of the original maps that the developers used as inspiration. Read on:

Here is my favourite — Shogun 2. I was quite pleased that, like me, the developers characterise Fall of the Samurai as a game about change!

Here is Medieval 2:

Empire and Napoleon. Apparently, CA licensed ship plans from the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich.

Here is Rome 2. I think the set showing the Romans operating against four different foes — Caesar marching through Gaul, legionaries fighting horsemen and elephants, and the legions conducting a siege — sums up the game’s appeal, as a costume drama of the ancient world.

Here is Attila, which CA did not lump together with Rome 2:

Finally, here are the offshoots, Kingdoms and Arena:

Can I recommend this? As an art book, it has no practical use; you could use the money for a cheap game on Steam. But the book and its contents are gorgeous, and it’s nice to have the art from the series collected in one place. If you are a Total War fan, and you are in the market for an art book, I think this is worthwhile.